For this assignment we were tasked with sculpting either a bust of ourselves or of an original character in either Zbrush or Mudbox. I chose to sculpt an organic character in Zbrush. Below is a documentation of my concepts, research and further development of the concept I wish to pursue further and model.
Fairy Concept
My Concept
The first of these characters design was a stylised female fairy creature. I enjoyed pushing shapes and stylising the characters features. I tried to make this character out of simplistic shapes, such as having a square shaped head, a small nose and mouth and a short bob hairstyle, all the while having big expressive eyes. My inspiration for such characteristics are shown in various works in media below.
The Saytress, Victor Quaresma, 2018
The exaggeration and detail in this painting is very inspiring to me. and the use of leaves for eyelashes, establishing the connection fairy tale creatures have to the environment is interesting.
John R Niell
John R Niell is mostly known for his illustrations of the Oz book series. I was captivated by his wispy, fantastical style.
Whilst I really enjoyed this character design, I feel that I would have difficulty realising it in Zbrush. The anatomy of this character would be hard do replicate in 3D as its so different from the structure of real people and gives me no real frame of reference to work from. Features like the eyelashes would be very difficult to create. The complexity of this character is very ambitious and upon reflection I’d rather push myself to strengthen my understanding of human anatomy and form before I attempt such a stylised approach.
Cowboy
My Concept
The second character design was a more realistic human man. I still tried to push shapes and slightly give him very rough and chiselled features, like a cowboy or pirate. Characters with features like this appear in media in abundance so I felt I had a good frame of reference to work from, and no shortage of inspiration. My main inspirations are included below.
Tony Moore, Comic Artist
Tony Moore's characters have a good balance of sharp features and ruggedness. These designs, whilst more stylised than what I am going for, help establish the general features I want to implement in my model.
Sculpture, Le génie du mal
Looking at how actual sculptures construct masculine features is educational, as it allows me to understand how the anatomy of a person is carved out.
Actors
Jason Momoa
Henry Cavill
I feel that giving the character more realistic appearance will allow me to work faster and more accurately, as I have a better frame of reference. I also believe giving the character very strong features will make it easier to tell what their personality is like, in turn making them feel more authentic. I have to consider weather or not to add clothes to the model, or weather or not giving him long, messy hair would be over complicated. Giving them clothes may enrich the character and add another layer of personality to them, however it could just as easily clutter it, as with making a bust the room for detail is limited to just the head, shoulders and chest. These are decisions I must consider when designing the model and will be able to conclude as I progress.
References
The Satyress
John R Niell Illustations
Tony Moore
Sculptures
Le génie du mal
Actors
Jason Momoa
Henry Cavill
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